Re: Do you recall getting that first “real” job?

My first job was working in a small town Dime Store, i was so shy that I couldnt even lift my head up to talk to people, needless to say I only lasted 1 week, I was right out of high school. A few years later My cousin had gotten a job at a local Welcome Station and she helped me get a job there, that is where i learned not to be so shy and and it was a really enjoyable job, getting to meet people from al walks of life and from all over the country. We represented a lot of businesses especially Motels and hotels, we helped people find their way to the beach and gave out maps of the area, free orange juice etc. I never went to college but Ive had many interesting and fun jobs and yes that first paycheck is something you just dont want to let go of.

"...I have fond memories of reading the Sunday comics (or funny papers as we called them) and D. Tracy was one of my favorites. In fact my avatar name "Sparkel" comes in part from Sparkle Plenty, a character in this same comic strip....'.

Your comment caught my eye as I live in the 'burbs of Chicago and there was a D Tracy museum in Woodstock, Il for awhile. Chester Gould used to live near Woodstock. They may even have D Tracy day there yet. However, D kinda got pushed aside, it would seem, as "Groundhog Day" was shot in Woodstock. If I go visit the town, they have all kinds of references to the film there and no D Tracy that I've seen.

Re: Do you recall getting that first “real” job?

Hi, Sologal. It's nice to hear about your early salemanship. I envy you. I have always been terrible at selling anything. My mother ended up buying all the Girl Scout cookies and my sisters weren't any better than I was. For years there were cookies, candy and all the other things we were supposed to sell in our freezer.

However, I did try my hand at being an entrepreneur when I was about 12 or a little younger. I had learned to make doll clothes and my favorite was for an 8" Madame Alexander Doll. I had quite an extensive wardrobe for her, except for the matching shoes. I have always loved shoes, even for my dolls.

Not far from where we lived there was an independent toy store and I asked the man who owned it about the shoes. They carried clothes for other dolls but not this one. I brought in one of my dolls wearing a dress I had made and I wanted red shoes to go with her. He promised to order the shoes for me and also said if I wanted to bring him some clothes he would sell them.

I was so excited and I made about six outfits, sometimes encluding hats or necklaces. I cut out pieces of cardboard to fit sandwich bags from what was in my fathers laundered shirts and attached the dresses to it along with whatever accessory I considered necesssary. They were hung up with the other doll clothes in the store. I priced them at $1 and I think I sold two of them before the shop went out of business a few months later.

Re: Do you recall getting that first “real” job?

I love the new AARP censors and think they have gone a bit overboard with the political correctness. I tried to post something on the TV site referring to the show that co-starred Mary Tyler Moore and it became "The "bleep" Van "bleep" Show.

It's just software they use; no "intelligence" at all, putting the word in context!

Re: Do you recall getting that first “real” job?

I barely remember my first job. I was 10 years old. I had a mail order account and sold new nylon pantyhose! Instead of money I received more pantyhose! I kept my records extremely accurate and my aunt was my best customer. I also had a small sale pitch about how sturdy the pantyhose were. New nylon!

I only wish I could remember the name of the company. After that I did some babysitting while my mother worked full time.

Re: Do you recall getting that first “real” job?

Frances: Your reference to a job of sign painting reminded me of something I had completly forgotten.

When I first moved into the house where I still live I was still new to the city and knew very few people. My next door neighbor was very helpful in a lot of ways, some of which are funny stories on their own, but I might tell those later. Her husband had been the owner of a very well known automobile dealership, one of those who did a lot of TV ads so everyone new him. He had just sold the dealership but then opened a small used car lot. I learned later he probably lost the dealership as he was very much an alcoholic.

His wife learned that I was an artist and asked me to paint a sign for his lot. I tried to explain that I knew nothing about sign painting but she said what they wanted was very simple. She brought me a pine board 12' x 12". She wanted it painted dark brown and then in gold a crown on the left end and "King's" to fill in the rest of the board. For that I was paid $25. I couldn't figure out a way to refuse so I did it. When I finished she seemed overjoyed and wanted me to sign it like a painting, which I didn't do. It was a terrible looking sign and I saw it for several years each time I drove down that street. I was glad nobody knew I was the one who painted it and was so happy when the lot closed and the sign was gone.

Re: Do you recall getting that first “real” job?

I love the new AARP censors and think they have gone a bit overboard with the political correctness. I tried to post something on the TV site referring to the show that co-starred Mary Tyler Moore and it became "The "bleep" Van "bleep" Show.

Re: Do you recall getting that first “real” job?

The summer befor the NYPD, I had a part-time job working at a college, doing draft typing for a professor. I had absolutely no understanding of what I was typing .. something like nuclear chemistry, so I guess it was all like a typing test for me, blindly typing from what I saw. What I remember was that they had bottles of liquid nitrogen in the office, and kept the temperature about 60 degrees, and my glasses would immediately fog up when I left the room!

Re: Do you recall getting that first “real” job?

Sparkle - It wasn't half as exciting as it sounds, no Andy Sipowicz or Bobby Simone! Being in a records section,

Oh well...at least it was interesting to tell your friends that you worked in the police department. The only job I remember having as a teenager was re-painting small outdoor signs for a local sign company. My step grandfather got it for me because I'd told him I was going to college and would be majoring in Advertising Art. I was not overly excited at having to perch on a ladder with cans of paint while all of my friend drove by and honked their horns.

Re: Do you recall getting that first “real” job?

Sparkle - It wasn't half as exciting as it sounds, no Andy Sipowicz or Bobby Simone! Being in a records section, the regular workers were mostly officers who couldn't do the job any more .. age, medical problems, etc. We were in a very old building w/o air conditioning, as I recall, so they left the windows open at night .. and the next day the desks were covered with dust from outside! We sent so many accident reports to the copy machine, it would regularly jam & papers would catch fire! That was the height of our "excitement"!